Kicking Off This Weekend: Summer Youth Olympics in Nanjing, China.

Opening Ceremonies for the Summer Youth Olympic Games (YOG) begins today! To raise awareness, here are some fun facts about the Summer Youth Olympic Games:

Over 3800 athletes, aged 15-18, will compete for medals in approximately 222 events.

There are 28 sports featured in the 2nd Summer Youth Olympic Games. Among these sports are: beach volleyball, golf, rugby, taekwondo, canoeing, archery, diving, swimming, trampolining, and more. Baseball, Hockey, and motocross are not featured this summer.

168 nations have sent at least one qualified athlete to the games this summer.

Nanjinglele is the mascot of the 2014 series. The mascot is fashioned after Nanjing’s riverstone. “The riverstone is one precious, antiquated kind of pebble exclusively for artistic connoisseurship, formed completely by natural forces in millions of years.”

EXO, the K-Pop world sensation, will be performing at the YOG.

The YOG runs a Culture and Education Programme (CEP) that all athletes must participate in. This CEP teaches the young athletes how to prepare for their future academic careers.

The International Olympic Committee pays travel costs, plus room and board, for the athletes and judges during the 13-day event.

The budget for the 1st Youth Olympic Games in Singapore rose to over $284 Million. Nanjing has announced that this year’s games should fall under a $255.6 Million (more than 10% less than the Singapore games.)

At the last Olympic Games, the youth of Team USA won 21 medals (4 gold, 9 silver, and 9 bronze), giving us a placement of 13th overall.

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